Holmesburg, Philadelphia

Holmesburg
Neighborhood of Philadelphia
Saint Dominic Roman Catholic Church, on Frankford Avenue, was established in 1849
Country	United States
State	Pennsylvania
County	Philadelphia County
City	Philadelphia
Area code(s)	Area code 215

Holmesburg is a neighborhood in the Northeast section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Holmesburg was named for the descendants of John Holme (1632–1704) who immigrated to Philadelphia in the 1680s and had no known relation to Surveyor General Thomas Holme. John Holme's descendants acquired land in Lower Dublin, north and south of Frankford Avenue and west of the Pennypack Creek. At the turn of the 19th century they began selling numerous small parcels of their holdings in what became a real estate boom. Also at this time, John Holme, the great grandson of the first John Holme, renamed his lumber yard the Holmesburg Lumber Yard. This renaming coupled with the multitude of Holme family real estate transactions identified this area as 'Holmesburg', the title surviving more than two hundred years later.

It is bordered by Roosevelt Boulevard to the west, the Delaware River to the east, and Cottman avenue to the south. The border shared with Torresdale to the north is often subject to conversation, with answers ranging as far north as Academy Road and as far south as Pennypack Creek. Holmesburg uses 19136 as its zip code.

Holmesburg is the birthplace or residence of some of famous Americans, including Stephen Decatur (War of 1812 Naval commander),Matthias W. Baldwin (founder of the Baldwin Locomotive Works), Dr. Byrd Peale (a member of the historic Peale family and leading 19th century abolitionist), George Albert Castor (inventor of the ready-made suit that revolutionized the entire garment industry),, Civil War & Indian War leader General John Gibbon and actress Ethel Barrymore.

Before the Act of Consolidation, 1854, Holmesburg had been a part of Delaware Township of Philadelphia County. Before 1853, it had been a part of Lower Dublin Township.